Dog Grooming & Care

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The best dog clippers? Andis vs Oster!

If you are like me, you are instinctively shying away from buying a pair of quality dog clippers. Why? Because it puts you on the spot. You have finally taken the last step in becoming a dog groomer. You may wonder if you are really ready to give your pet a haircut. Perhaps you have watched dog grooming videos, enrolled in a grooming class. Now it’s your turn to stop pondering your possible future. If you want to be a professional or amateur dog groomer, you need a to shell out the plastic and get your own equipment. But what are the best dog grooming clippers on the market?

Let me give you the advice i give all my clients: Don’t go cheap or you will sorely regret it!

In this article, i’m going to review the two best clippers on the market to help you make the right decision. At the end i will provide you with links to further your research. Are you ready?

Why it makes absolute sense to buy a quality product

You might wonder why i recommend you to bite the bullet and get a quality hair trimmer. Well, there are two main reasons.

Reason #1: Quality. Well, that was obvious, wasn’t it? If you have bought buzzers for human hair you might have noticed, that paying a bit more makes a big difference in terms of how easy you can cut through hair. With pets, getting a powerfull clipper is even more important, because doggies hair is quite a bit thicker than human hair. This is the reason why you can’t use steal your husbands hair trimmer to start your grooming business. I also suspect that he would not like it very much! There are many products on the market. A visit to the pet store allows you to choose between dozens of brands. But beware, these clippers are often of poor quality. The break easily, they overheat and simply do not have the power to cut through thick hair.

Reason #2: Heat & Noise. If your pet is very shy, this can be a problem with cheaper clippers. Overheating clipper blades are a big problem because they can lead to injuries. Noise can scare your dog away and lead to trust issues. If you are running a dog grooming business, this can lead to liability issues. Stick to trustworthy brands such as Andis or Oster. Both are great. Let’s look into their line of quality, yet affordable dog clippers to find out which one is best for you.

Andis 22360 vs Oster A5 Turbo

First of all, don’t listen to what other dog groomers say because chances are , they’re fanboys of either Oster or Andis. It is important to make your buying decision alongside objective criteria. These criteria are: Noise, Heat, Durability as well as Accesories, Handling/Product Design. Let’s start the Fight!

Noise Emissions

It might be true that dog owners have it a bit easier compared to cat lovers when it comes to trimming their little friends hair. Cats are easier to disturb with loud clippers. But if you are grooming pets for money, you may as well run into traumatized dogs who simply refuse to be groomed with cheap and noisy clippers. Imagine how embarassing it would be to have your first client dissapointed because his dog would jump all over your grooming table because your dog hair trimmer is loud as hell. Like i said, the fact that dogs have thicker hair requires a powerfull motor. And Powerful motors are usually very noisy. Only good product design and quality clipper components ensure a smooth grooming. So who is the winner here?

Heat

Clipper blades rotate at very high speeds to ensure smooth sheering. This is a good thing because it allows you a hassle free grooming experience. But with it comes a problem: Overheating of the blades. Have you heard of razor burn? Imagine grooming a clients dog ..all is fine until the 5 minutes mark. He suddenly goes berzerk and you notice, that there are red streaks all across his skin. Congratulations! You’ve caused your dog a lot of pain because you bought a cheap clipper.

Unfortunatly, this problem is not exclusive to inferior products. The Oster A5 Turbo also tends to overheat after just 5-10 minutes and then takes a generous 45 Minutes to cool down. Oster might have standardized dog clipper blades, but ..well, the Andis is just better in this regard. It simply runs cooler! One way around it is to simply change blades every 5 minutes or apply a special coolant you can buy. Still, i have to give this point to Andis as the AGC22360 is usable for a whopping 30 minutes and cools down faster!

Please note that this isn’t such a big problem if you are trimming the fur of small and toy breed dogs – think poodles or pekinese. Still:

Durability

Especially if you are running a business, purchasing durable equipment makes a lot of sense. You are going to use your clippers quite often, so a sturdy casing and fail-safe product design is important. You don’t want to re-buy until you are broke. Don’t understimate this fact! In this regard, the Oster A5 is a bit better. Andis isn’t flimsy, on the contrary…but Oster is just a classic and very robust. You may even drop it without having to fear breakage. Although we would not recommend it.

2:1 – Is Oster finally catching up?

Accessories & Product Design

How do both products compare in terms of handling? Well. The Oster has a better design. This is simply the truth. There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all: The battery life of the andis is to short. This would not be a problem, if they had included a power chord of sufficient size! The small chord only compounds the problem of a weak battery life. Silly mistake andis!

Then, there are smaller design flaws. For instance, the power switch is placed on the side, so it is quite easy to accidentally switch it off. Clipper Blades are also harder to change. This does not come as a surprise, because Oster basically standardized the clipper blade system. The AGC-22360 also does not come with enough blades. You would need to buy an extra 7FC Blade, if you don’t want to give your dog a buzzcut with the included size-10 UltraEdge Blade!

The clear winner this round: Oster! 2:2

Conclusion

Both dog clippers are good, but which one is the best? Well, it really depends on your priorities. If you can live with some minor design flaws and slightly weaker handling, i would strongly suggest the AGC 22360 by Andis. Personally, i value a quiet and smooth operation and Andis just offers the better product in this regard. I don’t want to live in constant fear of hurting the pet i’m grooming neither do i want to scare him away. This is not to say that the Oster A5 Turbo isn’t worth your money. It also tends to be a bit less expensive and as i said, it is easier to handle and this might be crucial if you are a beginner. You see, it is a hard decision, but a decision you can make right now. Why? Because you know all the facts.

Both Links will lead you to amazon, my favourite Vendor. They always ship quickly and are VERY trustworthy. Click the links to find out how much you can save today. You’ll also have the opportunity to read more customer reviews to make sure you’re getting your monies worth. Afterall, you do not have cash to waste, especially if you want to save some by grooming your dog with the best dog clippers in town.

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Hello,
My name is Regina Tories, and i've been a dog lover since i was little.

After my first marriage, i was looking for a way to give my life new meaning. A friend of mine suggested to turn my hobby into a profession. These days i'm a professional groomer & advise clients on how to start a mobile dog grooming business.